What's REALLY in your dog's food?
A visual guide to pick the healthiest dry food brand for your pet dog within your budget.
By Geetanjali Khanna
16+ dry dog food brands are commonly available in an average Indian Pet Shop, with a range of over 48+ products in variety of sizes and price-ranges.
With an overwhelming array of options, all claiming to be the best dog food on the market, dog dry food pellets looking alike, and misguiding labels - it has become difficult for pet parents to find the healthiest pet food option for their pets within their budget.
Through this visual guide, we explore what makes one pet food healthier over another and navigate through the confusion and catch phrases of the labels to aid dog parents make informed choices.
As per Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO’s) guidelines for pet foods, a complete and balanced diet includes:
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Fats
Fibre
Vitamins & Minerals
Moisture
Out of these constituents, the key factor that sets up apart different brands on the scale of health is the Quantity and Quality of Protein used.
AAFCO has laid out their guidelines to chart out a dog’s daily nutrient requirements which defines the following range for Protein Concentration:
To see how products of different brand compare in terms of Protein Quantity i.e Protein %age:
For Example, Arden Grange has 3 products with 25% protein & 1 product with 30% protein.
On top of the quantity of protein, the quality of protein sources used are equally important.
To evaluate quality, we compare brands which are Plant Protein Leading vs Animal Protein Leading
Brands like Acana, Goodness, Taste of Wild & Orijen offer the highest protein content all of which comes from animal-leading sources.
Brands like Royal Canin, Farmina and Arden Grange offer both low and high protein products in the range.
Another factor that sets apart different brands on the scale of health is the Quality of Ingredients used.
To compare the quality of ingredients used, each product of the brands have been ranked as per a Quality Index calculated based on 4 factors:
All brands meet AAFCO’s minimum nutritional requirements, safety regulations and standards
Several brands like Royal Canin, Purina, Fidele etc. have adequate amount of protein but use By-Products instead of Fresh Ingredients.
Several brands like Purepet, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Drools etc. contain potential allergens for pets including Wheat, Corn, Maize, Dairy etc.
Brands like Chappi, Himalaya, Pedigree & Royal Canin use artificial preservatives, colourings or flavourings which can be harmful.
To compare the impact of the above four parameters and see where brands fall overall in terms of quality,
a rank was given to each product for every criteria they met to calculate the Quality Index.
For each product, the impact of the above four parameters and the Quality Index is represented using the following glyph.
Brands like Acana, Goodness, Taste of Wild, Orijen and Wag&Love rank the highest on the Quality Index implying they use fresh ingredients in quantities as per AAFCO guidelines and are free of Allergens & Preservatives.
To find the healthiest dry dog food for your pet within your budget, each brand’s overall quality index has been compared with it’s price.
As products of different brands come in a variety of pack sizes by weight, the value for money offered by each brand
has been calculated in terms of Price per Gram.
Arden Grange, Wags & Love, Farmina, Taste of the Wild, Acana, Goodness & Origin have the highest quality and are the healthiest but also have a high price.
Drools and Fidele have a good quality with low prices making them good budget-friendly options.